Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Jakarta provincial government took the decision to extend Micro-scale Community Activity Restriction (PPKM) measures until June 28, 2021, following a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases following the long Eid holidays in May.
According to the Jakarta Health Office data on May 31, 2021, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had reached 10,658, with a positivity rate of 7.6 percent from the PCR test results.
Within a fortnight, as of June 14, 2021, the number of cases climbed to 19,096, or an increase of nine thousand cases, Widyastuti, head of the Jakarta Health Office, remarked here on Tuesday.
The capital city recently bore witness to a daily increase of between two thousand and 2,700 cases, Widyastuti remarked, adding that the positivity rate significantly surged to 17.9 percent.
The spike also stemmed from the surfacing of new COVID-19 variants, such as the Delta B1617.2 and Beta B1351, in Jakarta.
"These new variants are quite troublesome because they have their own ability to infect us. We take the example of the Delta B1617.2 variant that is very easy to spread, and the Beta B1351 variant that can easily aggravate symptoms or be more deadly. However, a recent research noted that vaccines can still be an effective precautionary measure against all variants, but we all have to be vigilant," Widyastuti explained.
For the interim, the Jakarta government has readied more isolation beds as the capital city's bed occupancy rate (BOR) increased considerably as May 31, 2021.
"Our BOR has also increased significantly as of June 14. Out of the 7,341 isolation beds, 5,752 were occupied, or touched 78 percent in just two weeks. Out of the 1,086 ICU beds, some 773 were occupied, or reached 71 percent. Of the 78-percent occupied beds, 25 percent were used by residents outside Jakarta. Our commitment remains to not discriminate in providing our services, but this is a warning that the virus knows no boundaries," she stated.
The Jakarta administration has work together with various parties, such as the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the Nagrak Cilincing Flat, Wisma PMII, and Wisma Ragunan, and utilized various resources to add BOR for self-isolation facilities.
Jakarta also urged the central government to intensify tracing of COVID-19 transmission to stave off a broader spread of the virus.
Related news: Govt extends micro-scale restrictions till June 28
Related news: Jakarta extends micro-scale activity restrictions against COVID-19
Related news: Bolster implementation of micro-level PPKM after Eid holiday: Jokowi
